Far Cry 3 review
I don't know what it is, but there's something about an evil antagonist that really appeals to me. Maybe I'm a terrible person because I don't care much for the good, honest characters in games. Or maybe it's just that the bad guys really do seem to have a far more engrossing story to tell. What caused them to be like this? Are they just crazy or do they have a reason for being so dastardly? There are many questions you could ask, and as far as malevolent enemies go you'd be hard pressed to find one as absorbing as Vaas.
Moments after taking Jason Brody and his friends captive following a holiday gone horrifically wrong, Vaas already begins to steal the spotlight and demand that you pay attention to him. "Look me in the eye!" he screams with contempt within the opening minutes. "I rule this kingdom. Shut up, or you die." You may not know anything about this strange island or Vaas himself yet, but you already start to believe him.
Fortunately for Jason, as with any malicious boss with an army of mercenaries to run, Vaas is a busy man and he eventually wanders off, leaving you and your brother to find an escape route to freedom. Before long you'll find yourself at the friendly Amanaki Village, shown where to buy weapons and told that you'll need to be the man who fronts the uprising against Vaas and his cronies. Plenty to be getting on with, then.
It's an action-packed, disorientating opening that does well to set the tone for what is to come. But what really makes Far Cry 3 stand out from other shooters is the superbly created open-world of Rook Island that you suddenly find yourself a resident of. It's a huge environment teeming with the good guys of the Rakyat tribe, the trigger-happy foot soldiers of Vaas and deadly wildlife that can put an end to your adventure at any moment.
It's a landscape so beautifully realised that it's tempting to just stop what you're doing in the middle of a gunfight so that you can admire the view. The vast size of Rook Island isn't fully apparent until you reach the top of one of the many radio towers scattered across the land and take a long look at what's around you. Ascending these old, battered towers and getting the radio signal back up uncovers yet more of the island on your map that you'll rush to investigate in search of new things. Each tower also has a different route to the top, never often simple, meaning that you'll get a good bit of platforming done as you jump from ledge to ledge.
Players are also encouraged to liberate the many outposts dotted across the island. They're often filled with a number of enemies and you'll get bonuses for finishing undetected. This is where another great aspect of the game kicks in, using stealth tactics to stay hidden and taking down opponents with silent knife kills. What often follows is a tense struggle where you distract guards by throwing rocks, hide dead bodies before they can be found and disable the alarms so that backup can't be called. Your prize for liberating an outpost is a new fast-travel point to make the journey between missions go that much quicker. It'll also open up that outpost’s bulletin board, which offers side-missions where you further help out the Rakyat tribe.
Even without the fast-travel points there are a range of vehicles to aid you in your passage. There are a few iterations of plain looking cars that are quite common, as they're used by most of the other island dwellers and you'll often find them helpfully lying at the side of a road waiting to be taken. They're solid to drive and will do the job, but don't offer much in terms of excitement. For those extreme thrill seekers, the buggy and the quad bike will be much more enticing, allowing you to perform high-speed runs across the island with a smaller chance of breaking down after colliding with a tree. It happens to the best of us. Then there are the numerous boats and gliders to be found, so that you can even take to the sea and the air.
While the vehicles are a great feature you'll be wary of travelling too fast and missing out on the fantastic wildlife, which you can stalk through the woods before, well, killing and skinning. For Jason to take the fight to Vaas he needs items that can hold his weapons, ammo and money. You craft these items yourself with the help of animal skins and you'll need a lot of them, so you better get hunting.
As if activating radio towers, liberating outposts and crafting new items wasn't enough to keep you going outside of the main story missions, there is also the small matter of a skill tree system. This allows you to spend skill points to improve your prowess with guns and knives, upgrade your health and generally become a much better warrior. A unique way of signifying Jason's growth in the skill tree is the way a tattoo on his left arm grows after he spends skill points, leading to a fully covered left forearm by the end of the game.
The story is what will keep you plodding on though, following Jason as he attempts to find the rest of his friends that are still in captivity and cleanse the island of violent bandits in the process. There are a few weak points in the main narrative, like when disturbing events seem to be somehow glossed over within moments of occurring, but overall it does well to keep you hooked right up until the last missions.
It's never surprising when you hear that multiplayer is featured in a game, but maybe it is this time considering the sheer size of the Far Cry 3 single-player campaign. It turns out to be a pleasant surprise though, as it just means even more value for your hard-earned money, if that was possible. The competitive multiplayer will see players slugging it out over a handful of maps in the usual modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and the like. It's not particularly amazing but it works, and performing well in matches gifts you extra XP to unlock new items and loadouts. What sets the multiplayer apart is the inclusion of a map editor, meaning players can create their own environments to wreak havoc in. It's a fantastic feature that really makes the Far Cry 3 multiplayer experience stand out.
Those that prefer a more story-driven multiplayer segment can take part in the co-op with up to three other friends or just random strangers. The events in co-op take place six months before the main single-player campaign, with four strangers being forced together as they hunt for revenge. The team will receive specific instructions as they progress through missions, such as blowing up a bridge or defending an outpost. There's a large difference between the linear co-op mode and the endless freedom of the single-player but it still makes for an enjoyable activity. It can be very challenging and you'll find yourself needing a revive from teammates now and again but it's another facet to this already multilayered game.
Overall it's hard not to be impressed with everything that Far Cry 3 has to offer. The open-world of Rook Island is simply a delight to behold from every angle, be that from the skies as you glide over the terrain or the sea where you can gaze upon the lush, tropical jungle in all its beauty. Colourful characters and exotic creatures combine to make it really feel alive. Far Cry 3 is now the standard that other open-world shooters should aspire to match.